Connector for underground utility applications

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to an electrical connector of the type used in underground utility applications wherein a number of secondary cables may be terminated to a commoning plate and wherein any one of the cables may be detached from the commoning plate without disturbing the other cables. The connector comprises a commoning block of electrically conducting material, preferably aluminum, having tapered holes therethrough, for receiving an electrical cable with connector thereon. The connector makes watertight fit with a reamed out portion of the commoning plate and is secured thereto, a watertight member being positioned on the opposite side of the commoning block to provide a watertight underground connection.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Mario Polidori Pennsauken,N.J. [21]Appl. No. 15,177 [22] Filed Feb. 27, 1970 [45] Patented Jan. 4, 1972[73] Assignee AMP Incorporated Harrisburg, Pa.

[54] CONNECTOR FOR UNDERGROUND UTILITY APPLICATIONS 9 Claims, 9 DrawingFigs.

[52] US. Cl 339/19, 339/61 M, 339/242, 339/268 R [51] Int. Cl ..!I01r31/08, I-IOlr 13/30 [50] Field of Search 339/19, 60, 68, 263, 267, 268,242, 59, 61, 94

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,087,384 7/1937 Lee 174/722,583,804 1/1952 Andrus 171/252 3,173,988 3/1965 Martahus et al. 174/753,183,476 5/1965 Sacks et a1. 339/242 3,292,134 12/1966 Moulin 339/1923,577,114 5/1971 Hawkins 339/94 ABSTRACT: The disclosure relates to anelectrical connector of the type used in underground utilityapplications wherein a number of secondary cables may be terminated to acommoning plate and wherein any one of the cables may be detached fromthe commoning plate without disturbing the other cables. The connectorcomprises a commoning block of electrically conducting material,preferably aluminum, having tapered holes therethrough, for receiving anelectrical cable with connector thereon. The connector makes watertightfit with a reamed out portion of the commoning plate and is securedthereto, a watertight member being positioned on the opposite side ofthe commoning block to provide a watertight underground connection.

PATENTED J 4 an SHEET 3 0F 3 CONNECTOR FOR UNDERGROUND UTILITYAPPLICATIONS This invention relates generally to electrical connectorsof the type used in underground utility applications, and morespecifically, to an underground preinsulated commoning plate forreceiving plural secondary cables therein and providing a watertight fittherewith.

With the continuing improvements in wire insulation, it has been foundhighly desirable from an aesthetic as well as from an economic sense toplace electrical cabling underground rather than on utility poles andthe like. Such arrangements eliminate the unsightly utility pole fromresidential communities, provide additional safety and also eliminatethe costly installation of such utility poles and the requirement thatelectrical cables be serviced at great heights rather than at the moreeasily accessible underground locations. The use of such undergroundelectrical wiring has led to requirement of underground connectors andcommoning blocks which also have the properties of the cableinstallation of the present state of the art in that such connectors andcommoning blocks or plates can be made watertight and substantiallyuncorrodable, even when connected to a plurality of cables whileunderground.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided anelectrically and hermetically insulating commoning plate for undergrounduse and for connection to electrical cable and a connector for suchelectrical cable for making a watertight connection with the commoningplate of the present invention. Briefly, the above is provided by theuse of a commoning plate which is formed of an electrically conductivematerial, such as aluminum, having a plurality of aperturestherethrough, the commoning plate being preinsulated by forming aninsulating and watertight laminate or coating thereon. In oneembodiment, the apertures can have the insulating coating removed or,according to a second embodiment, the apertures are also coated, theapertures being reamed out individually upon requirement for the use ofsame to expose the conductive material for connection to a connectormember. The connector member, according to a first embodiment, is madeout of an electrically conductive material such as aluminum and iscrimped at one end thereof over a cable which is positioned within arecess or aperture within the connector element to secure the cable tothe connector member. The connector member also includes a threadedportion at its forward end for receiving a bolt, the connector memberhaving a heat-shrinkable insulating coating thereon for mating with thecommoning block. The connector is positioned within the recess in thecommoning block to make a watertight fit therewith, the bolt being fedthrough the opposite end of the aperture and through an insulatingbushing to mate with the connector and secure the connector within theaperture, simultaneously making a watertight seal between the connectorand the commoning block. According to the second embodiment, an aluminumconnector member is provided having a recess at its rearward portion anda threaded recess at its forward portion with a resilient cylindricallyshaped portion around the midpoint thereof and tapered toward the frontend of the cylindrical portion. A cable is placed in the rearward recessof the connector and crimped therein by crimping down on the connectorportion at the rearward portion thereof. The heat shrinkable sleeve isthen positioned over the cable insulation and extends over the annularresilient rubber portion thereof and is then heated to provide awatertight fit with the cylindrical resilient member and the wire cableinsulation. The cable is now prepared for installation into thecommoning block by insertion of the cable with connector into one end ofthe aperture thereof and securing of the connector thereto by means of abolt and washer placed into the connector through the opposite end ofthe commoning block. A watertight material such as a rubber boot or thelike is then placed over the bolt secured to the commoning block toprovide a watertight seal. The above connector and method provides arelatively inexpensive connector for a cable which can be easily andquickly inserted and installed on site with minimal use of tools andwithout requiring highly skilled personnel.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a preinsulatedconnector arrangement capable of receiving plural secondary cables fortermination to a commoning plate.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a preinsulatedconnector arrangement for connection to a commoning plate which issubstantially watertight in underground applications.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a connector andcommoning plate for electrical cable which is relatively inexpensive toproduce and which, can be-installed without the requirement ofsophisticated tooling or highly trained personnel.

The above objects and still further objects of this invention willimmediately become apparent to'those skilled in the art afterconsideration of the following specified preferred embodiments thereofwhich are provided by way of example and not by way of limitationwherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a commoning block with connectorssecured thereto according to a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross section of a commoning block in accordance with thefirst embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of a cable and connector according to a firstembodiment prior to completion thereof;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the connector and cable in accordance withthe first embodiment of the invention after termination to a cable andinsertion into a commoning block;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a commoning block and connector inaccordance with the second embodiment of this invention prior toconnection;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a commoning block and connector inaccordance with a second embodiment of the invention after connection;

FIG. 8 is an exploded view in cross section of a third embodiment of aconductor and commoning plate in accordance with the present invention;and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the third embodiment of theinvention after connection.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 to 5 there is shown a first embodiment of aconnector and commoning plate or block in accordance with the presentinventiomWith specific reference to FIG. 1, there is shown the commoningblock 32 which receives connectors 22 having cables 25 secured to theconnectors, the connectors making a watertight fit with the commoningblock. The commoning block also includes boots 38 for providing awatertight seal at the opposite end thereof.

Referring now more specifically to FIGSQZ and 5, there is provided acylindrical electrical connector or terminal 22, preferably of aluminum,which has a cable-receiving aperture 23 in one end thereof and a taperednose portion 24with a threaded aperture 26 on the other end thereof. Theconnector member 22 is secured to a cable 25 by crimping the connectormember 22 over the aperture region 23. thereof while the cable 25 isinserted therein (FIG. 5) to provide an electrically and mechanicallytight connection. Positioned atop the connector member 22 is acylindrically shaped resilient piece 27, preferably of rubber or thelike, which is tapered toward its forward region and will be utilizedlater to form a watertight shield with the commoning plate 32 as will beexplained in more detail hereinbelow. A sleeve of insulating material 28(FIG. 5) which is heat shrinkable is then placed over the crimpedportion of the connector 22 and extends forwardly over the cylindricalmember 27 and rearwardly over the insulation 29 of the cable 25. Thesleeve 28 is then shrunk around the connector member 22 by heating toprovide an insulating and watertight fit between the cylindrical member27 and the insulation 28.

The commoning plate 32 is shown in greater detail in FIGS. 3 and 5. Inthe commoning plate of FIGS. 3 and 5, there is provided an electricallyconductive body, preferably of aluminum, having a plurality of apertures30 therethrough, the entire commoning plate 32 including the apertures30 thereof being coated with an insulating and waterproof material 34 ofwell-known type. When it is desired to make an electrical connectionthereto, the apertures 30 thereof are reamed out, as shown in FIG. 5, toremove a portion of the insulating material 34 and the rear portion 36of the aperture 30 is ground down to provide a flat surface 37 thereoffor receiving a washer 34 or the like thereover as will be explainedhereinbelow. The connector of FIGS. 4 and 5, along with the cableattached thereto, is then placed into the aperture 30 as shown in FIG. 5and a bolt 34 having a washer 31 thereover is rotated into the threadedaperture 26 of the connector 22 to bring the connector 22 into intimatecontact with the reamed out portion of the commoning block 32 as shownin FIG. 5. It will be seen that the cylindrical member 27 will be placedin intimate contact with the insulation 34 of the commoning block 32 toprovide a watertight fit' at one end thereof. After securing the bolt 34tightly to the connector 22, a boot 38 will be placed over the rearportion of the commoning block 32 to provide a watertight covering overthe bolt 34 and washer 31. It should be understood that in place of theboot 38, a waterproofing and insulating material can be deposited overthe bolt 34 and washer 31 to provide a covering and to provide thedesired watertight nature of the connection.

Referring now to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown a connector arrangementin accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention whichincludes a cylindrical connection member or electrical terminal 2preferably of aluminum, which has a cable-receiving aperture 3 in oneend thereof, and a tapered nose portion 4 with a threaded aperture 6 onthe other end thereof. The connector member 2 is secured to a cable 5 bycrimping the connector member 2 over the aperture region 3 thereof whilethe cable 5 is inserted therein to provide an electrically andmechanically tight connection. A sleeve of insulating material 8 whichis heat shrinkable is then placed over the crimp of the connector 2 andextends forward to the tapered portion 4 thereof and is then shrunkaround the connector member 2 by heating same. The insulating material 8is also positioned backward to extend over the insulation of the cableconductor 5.

There is shown a commoning plate or block 12 which is formed fromelectrically conductive material, such as aluminum. The plate 12 has aplurality of apertures 10 on one side thereof and an inward taper 11 atthe opposite sides thereof. The inward taper 11 is designed to mate withthe tapered portion 4 of the connector member 2. A layer of insulation13 is formed over the entire commoning plate 12 with the exception ofthe tapered region 10 which will mate with the tapered portion 4. Theinsulation can be placed on the commoning plate by dipping the plateintoa liquid insulating medium after which it solidifies or by otherwell-known methods.

Also associated with the commoning plate and the connector 2 is a bolt14 having an insulated head 16 with a forward taper thereon and abushing 15 of Teflon or the like for mating with the recess 11.

For securing the cable 5 with conductor 2 to the commoning block 12 thecable and connector are positioned within the aperture 10 and the bolt14 is fed through the aperture 10 into the threaded aperture 6 and isrotated therein for securing the connector 2 into the commoning plate"12 as shown more clearly in FIG. 7. It can be seen that the insulationsleeve 8, positioned on the connector 2, makes intimate contact with theinsulation 13 on the commoning plate 12. In addition, the Teflon bushing15 will make intimate contact with the insulation 13 of the commoningplate and the insulated head 16 will make intimate contact with thebushing 15 to provide a watertight connection for underground use.

Referring now to FIG. 8 there is shown a third embodiment of a connectorwhich includes a tapered outer aluminum shell 52, one end of which isinternally threaded as at 54. A pair of tapered gripping jaws 56 and 58with internal serrations 60 is disposed in the small end of the shell52. A spring 52 may be used in the connector to keep the jaws 56 and S8in axial position before the connector is used.

Also included is an externally threaded body member 64 which is adaptedto be threaded into shell 52 by means of the threaded pointed ends 70thereof. As can be seen body member 64 has wrench flats on the outersurface thereof by which the parts may be tightened together. Bodymember 64 also includes a threaded axial passageway 66 therethrough.

Referring still to FIG. 8, a cylindrical pin member or electricalterminal 67 with a threaded end 68 terminating in a point 70 is providedMember 67 has wrenched flats 92 on the outer surface thereof. The otherend of 67 is tapered at 72, and terminates in a reduced threaded section74. Y

In use, referring now to FIG. 9, a connector housing shell 52 isassembled with the gripping jaws 60 and 58 therein and with body 64threaded into its associated counterpart. Pin member 67 is looselythreaded into passageway 66 of body 64. A cable C is pushed into housingmember 52, during which time jaws 56 and 58 open in their taperedsection to embrace the cable conductor C. At this time, spring 62 keepsjaws 56 and 58 biased against the cable conductor. Pin member 67 is thentightened into body 64 by a wrench. During the tightening of member 67,pointed end 70 pushes against the end of the cable conductor to tightenjaws 56 and 58 in their tapered section. Pointed end 70 subsequentlyenters and spreads the cable strands, as best shown in FIG. 9, toprovide a secure mechanical and electrical connection.

Referring still to FIG. 9 the connector with cable attached is securedto a commoning plate or block 94 having insulation 96 thereon in amanner similar to those previously discussed with reference to the firstand second embodiments herein. It should be noted that the outer shell56 and the body 64 may be made in one piece by conventional spin-formingtechniques. The threaded portion 74 is secured to the commoning plate 94by a nut 97 and washer 98. An insulating and watertight boot 99 ispositioned over the nut and washer.

Through the invention has been described with respect to specificpreferred embodiments thereof, many variations and modifications thereofwill immediately become apparent to those skilled in the art. It istherefore the intention that the appended claims be interpreted asbroadly as possible in view of the prior art to include all suchvariations and modifications.

What is claimed is:

1. A connector for an underground utility application, comprising: ablock of conductive material, a coating of insulation and sealingmaterial covering said block, said block being provided with a pluralityof apertures extending entirely through said block, each of saidapertures including a tapered sidewall, portions of said coatingencircling each end of said apertures, an electrically conductiveterminal having a recessed portion at one end thereof for connection toan electrical cable, the other end of said terminal being tapered and ofa configuration complimentary to the tapered sidewall of each of saidtapered apertures provided in said block, said tapered end beingreceived in mating registration within a tapered sidewall of a selectedaperture provided in said block, sleeve-sealing means of insulationmaterial encircling a portion of said electrical terminal, threadedconnection means protruding from the end of said tapered end andreceived in said selected aperture, and covering means positivelyconnected to said threaded connection means, said covering means andsaid sleeve-sealing means overlying and in sealing compression againstsaid coating portions encircling respectively said ends of the selectedaperture provided in said block, said threaded connection meanscooperating with said sleeve-sealing means and said covering means andsimultaneously applying sealing compression of said sleeve-sealing meansand said covering means against said coating.

2. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein, said block is providedwith a tapered recess communicating with one end of said selectedaperture provided in said block, said coating portion which encirclessaid one end of said selected aperture is covering said recess, and saidsleeve-sealing means is in registration with said recess as well asoverlying said coating.

3. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein, said covering meansincludes a washer and a waterproofing and insulating covering providedon said threaded connection means and on said washer.

4. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said covering means isreceived over and attached to said threaded connection means.

5. The structure as recited in claim 1, and further including: aheat-shrinkable sleeve of insulation material received over saidsleeve-sealing means and over the recessed portion of said terminal.

6. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein, said sleevesealingmeans encircles and covers said recessed portion of said terminal.

7. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein said threaded connectionmeans includes external threads, and further including: securing meansthreadedly connected on said threaded connection means for positivelysecuring said terminal to said block.

8. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein, said tapered sidewallsof each of said apertures extend entirely through said block to define atapered bore.

9. The structure as recited in claim 4, wherein said covering meansincludes a bushing.

1. A connector for an underground utility application, comprising: ablock of conductive material, a coating of insulation and sealingmaterial covering said block, said block being provided with a pluralityof apertures extending entirely through said block, each of saidapertures including a tapered sidewall, portions of said coatingencircling each end of said apertures, an electrically conductiveterminal having a recessed portion at one end thereof for connection toan electrical cable, the other end of said terminal being tapered and ofa configuration complimentary to the tapered sidewall of each of saidtapered apertures provided in said block, said tapered end beingreceived in mating registration within a tapered sidewall of a selectedaperture provided in said block, sleeve-sealing means of insulationmaterial encircling a portion of said electrical terminal, threadedconnection means protruding from the end of said tapered end andreceived in said selected aperture, and covering means positivelyconnected to said threaded connection means, said covering means andsaid sleevesealing means overlying and in sealing compression againstsaid coating portions encircling respectively said ends of the selectedaperture provided in said block, said threaded connection meanscooperating with said sleeve-sealing means and said covering means andsimultaneously applying sealing compression of said sleeve-sealing meansand said covering means against said coating.
 2. The structure asrecited in claim 1, wherein, said block is provided with a taperedrecess communicating with one end of said selected aperture provided insaid block, said coating portion which encircles said one end of saidselected aperture is covering said recess, and said sleeve-sealing meansis in registration with said recess as well as overlying said coating.3. The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein, said covering meansincludes a washer and a waterproofing and insulating covering providedon said threaded connection means and on said washer.
 4. The structureas recited in claim 1, wherein said covering means is received over andattached to said threaded connection means.
 5. The structure as recitedin claim 1, and further including: a heat-shrinkable sleeve ofinsulation material received over said sleeve-sealing means and over therecessed portion of said terminal.
 6. The structure as recited in claim1, wherein, said sleeve-sealing means encircles and covers said recessedportion of said terminal.
 7. The structure as recited in claim 1,wherein said threaded connection means includes external threads, andfurther including: securing means threadedly connected on said threadedconnection means for positively securing said terminal to said block. 8.The structure as recited in claim 1, wherein, said tapered sidewalls ofeach of said apertures extend entirely through said block to define atapered bore.
 9. The structure as recited in claim 4, wherein saidcovering means includes a bushing.